Whispering Smith published in the Littlehampton Gazette August 8th. 2013

THE recent lovely weather is the time when Littlehampton really comes into its own as a summer seaside town. Hot sands with little stick like Lowery figures spread across the beach to the low water mark, the smell of the salt, red bodied grownups and laughing children catching crabs by the riverside. Spilled, melting ice cream all over the promenade, the pong of the barbeques, deck chairs, crazy golf, the par three pitch and putt – quite challenging that – the smell of vinegar drenched fish and chips, then the turning tide washing away the elaborate sand castles of the morning and driving the bathers and sun worshipers up the stony beach to where space is at a premium and all under the watchful eyes of the ever present and vigilant RNLI Lifeguards. In the evening the seaside of LA is a little short on attractions, some excellent restaurants and pubs but little by the way way of regular evening entertainment. It is a short season for those who provide the dressing to a seaside day, but they do succeed and it is difficult to find anyone not enjoying the experience and taking away memories that will come back to gently haunt them in future years They too will, as do I together with my own children, remember sunny days on the beach at LA. Like so many young people, I moved away but came home and I have never regretted that return journey. There are more exotic places but, on a hot sun blessed summer’s day LA is a good place to be.

THE day following the departure of the travellers from our green, a local woman committed the cardinal sin of crossing the nine yards of the promenade from green to beach with her little dog off the lead. She was immediately approached by a less than friendly dog warden who warned she was breaking the law and could be subject to a £1000 fine. Uhmm, one wonders where said warden was the previous week when dogs were all over the place, pooping on the green and making folk a little edgy? Uhmm, and where were the foreshore guardians that long week when kids were roaring along the prom on motorcycles?

LAST TANGO IN LA: Our last tango for the cinema was 183 days ago and counting, but the theatre is still going strong.